Tuesday, January 22

A family Tree

Recently well known Australian actor and celebrity Jack Thompson, who was adopted as a child by the Thompson family appeared on national TV talking about his recently discovered biological family.

A friend emailed me to ask about my own family tree because of the name and history similarities; soon it was discovered I was a distant cousin.In looking back on my family tree it reminds me of the many interesting aspects of my parent’s ancestors, as what was mentioned by Jack Thompson.

On my fathers side my great, great Grandfather arrived from Ireland where he had been convicted of armed robbery, and ,once he gained his ticket, (a free pardon) married and settled in the seaside town of Ballina in NSW. Henceforth those 3 generations were all involved in the cedar getting industry. My great grandfather fathered 15 children and both managed to live on to a respectable age. Not only were the descendants all involved in the Cedar industry but their children married into families who in turn were heavily involved and all stayed within the one district. On my Grandmothers side co incidentally they were also all Cedar Getters. Some rose to prominence and their history is recorded in local historical texts. One was known as the Cedar King who purchased the biggest cedars tree ever felled, one that yielded 38,000 feet of timber. What a sacrilege, to cut down such a majestic forestry giants!! Nevertheless he went on to become mayor and prominent citizen whose poetry, epitaphs and stories of the Richmond appeared in many publications. Within that family tree is also recorded a marriage to a scar faced convict whilst another’s mother was descended from royalty, but disinherited as she married a master mariner, considered to be well below her rank in life. On my Mothers side both grandparents were first generation English migrants who also settled In Ballina.

8 comments:

Amazing to learn about the interconnections we all have with a little background study, eh? It's also good to remember to listen to our older relations and friends while we have the opportunity. My Dad used to tell long and highly detailed stories about his childhood, coal mining in the 20's in England, the strikes, his second WW experiences in the navy, being a London bus driver (imagine learning to drive on a double-decker). I loved his stories and still wish I'd recorded his discourses but it would be poignant to hear his voice again.

Hi Rachael, Susan, Arulba & Gary, thank you for your comments. Susan~ Good advice, I would also love to heard more about my parents recollections. It would indeed be interesting to hear about your father growing up in the 20's in England, the strikes, and especially his second WW experiences in the navy etc ! How about a post from what you remember from his stories to you ? I remember going to school on a Double Decker bus and being petrified it would overturn!!

Arulba - Like Susan I wish I had some of those stories on paper.

Gary ~Cedar Getters is a term that belongs to that era, I don’t think anyone would use it to day! Best wishes

Hello again Lindsay - Now that I have the photo scanner I've been planning on some historical posts now and then. Nice of you to mention you'd enjoy it as it gives me a bit more confidence in the idea.

About Me

I have worked in the roles as Company Secretary or Divisional financial executive with larger Australian based multinational companies before changing careers in favour of sales and marketing for the latter 12 years of business life.
My particular interests include corporate social responsibility, ethics and research into more sustainable business practices.
I am a fellow of CPA Australia and an Associate member of the Governance Institute of Australia which was previously called the Chartered Secretaries Australia. I am chairman of the Malawi Support group who are a small group of catholic parishioners who raise funds to support a sister parish in Malawi.